03 March 2010

2007 Nobilo Pinot Gris

I love keeping a couple of light white wines around, and will occasionally move one to the fridge if I think it might go well with dinner. Recently I dug out the 2007 Nobilo Pinot Gris from Marlborough. $15, 14% abv. Light citrus aroma with some of that classic New Zealand grapefruit peel. Grapefruit and melon flavors follow through, with a creamy finish. Not too tart, very food friendly.

I served it with a roasted chicken thigh and a little angel hair pasta tossed with sautéed mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and spinach. Pretty easy to make--start with the mushrooms, eventually add the other vegetables. Deglaze with a bit of the wine, crush the tomatoes, and then add the barely-cooked angel hair to the skillet with a half cup or so of the starchy pasta water. Mix thoroughly with tongs, add grated hard cheese, and enjoy. Although it was cold and rainy outside a meal like this helps you look forward to spring.

UPDATE: This post originally identified this wine as a Sauvignon Blanc. Thanks to commenter Anonymous for the correction!

I've been surprised at some reactions from people recently--wine fans boycotting all of Australia or New Zealand based on some of the most egregious examples. Nobilo is a big producer, but like you said, they produce decent wines for the price.

NZ whites hold a special place in my heart, because it's the first time that I learned how a grape could have a completely different flavor based on where in the world it was grown. The NZ Sauvignon Blancs were also the first wines I could reliably identify in a blind tasting.

Benito, I'm part of that boycott in a way. I see it as more of a, "Not going to keep throwing good money after bad" deal though. When you can get a delicious and FRESH tasting bottle of white wine from France or California for the same price, I just cannot see dropping another penny in that overfull, (read over ripe) bucket. Are there still good wines coming out of the SoHem, of course but bottle after bottle of out of balance, gooey or sloopy....can leave a very bad taste in your mouth.

I wasn't mentioning anyone by name... :) Fortunately it's possible to concentrate on whichever region you love due to the wide availability of wine these days.

Anonymous,

You're entirely right--this is the Pinot Gris. Thanks for the correction, and I've edited the post to reflect this. In my written notes I kept mentioning how much it reminded me of a Sauvignon Blanc, hence the slip.

When I see pics online of white wine, all frosty and refreshing looking in the glass, I ask myself why I don't drink them more often. I recently went out for seafood with a group of friends, and had a nice glass of SB with my salmon, and it was very, very tasty. Then at a trade tasting a couple weeks ago, I tried several SB's, and found at least two I could really love. Note to self: must drink more WHITE wine! ; )

I often find myself with the same problem. For me it's mostly about grapes: you've typically got a lot more red choices and blends in the shop than you do with white wine. At times it's sort of like reminding yourself to "eat your vegetables", even though I'm often delighted by the whites I try.